Sean Payton Visits Cardinals, Responds to Friction in Coaching Interviews

The Arizona Cardinals hosted Sean Payton for a fairly long visit today. Payton himself then addressed rumors concerning the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos on Twitter.

The Arizona Cardinals hosted Sean Payton today for what was reportedly an extended period of time on Thursday. 

BREAKING: and the interview continues… Michael Bidwill and Sean Payton just left in Bidwill’s car after spending all day at the #AZCardinals practice facility. More coming up on @12News at 5. @12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/WuNVspgt5D

— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) January 26, 2023

Payton reportedly had lunch with owner Michael Bidwill in what was a lengthy day for both parties. 

More: https://t.co/zdAhRvxgr0

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) January 26, 2023

In his report on Payton mentioned in the tweet, Odegard gave some great details on how things went:

"He met for some time with owner Michael Bidwill and the rest of an interview panel that included Chief People Officer Shaun Mayo, Senior Vice President of Media Relations Mark Dalton and Senior Vice President of Marketing Lisa Manning," said Odegard.

"Payton had lunch with Bidwill and General Manager Monti Ossenfort, and that conversation may have been particularly meaningful because most believe Payton would want personnel control of a roster if he accepts a job."

The Cardinals have interviewed a handful of other prominent candidates such as Vance Joseph, Brian Flores, Frank Reich and Dan Quinn among other candidates. 

Yet some movement was finally seen on the coaching front when the Carolina Panthers hired Reich earlier today, the first candidate Arizona interviewed after Ossenfort was officially introduced as their new general manager. 

Payton interviewed with Carolina and Denver prior to meeting with the Cardinals. Payton reportedly pushed back a meeting with the Broncos to meet with Arizona. 

There’s been plenty of noise about Payton and he desired level of control within an organization. 

He addressed those on Twitter: 

So, quite the interesting day for Payton in a variety of ways.